Alameda’s many fire reports

City officials have released a quintet of reports authored over the past eight years examining the services provided by the Alameda Fire Department that look at everything from calls handled and response times to staffing and the spacing of fire stations, nearly all done as city officials sought out ways to trim costs in the face of a challenging economy.

Critics of the department and of the cost of the services it provides have said they’d like to see staffing and other cuts based on a 2009 study from ICMA Consulting that recommended shuttering one or two of the city’s fire stations, trimming staff and focusing the department’s efforts of prevention and mitigation of fires and medical emergencies instead of responding to them. City leaders, who said they released the remaining reports in the face of what they called inaccuracies offered by some who have spoken out on the issue, said they wanted to give the public the chance to see what they’ve got, though City Manager John Russo said that after reading the rest he’s convinced the city’s existing fire stations should remain open.

Russo said he’s not sure why the city conducted four studies on essentially the same fire-related topics over the past eight years; he said city staffers will read the studies and try to draw conclusions on what if any changes should be made at the fire department.

In the meantime, we at The Alamedan have also read all 447 pages of the studies, and we’re offering a synopsis of each below. If you’d like to see the studies yourself, they’re available on the city’s website.